I've killed deer with a .22, but that was to finish them off after they'd been hit by a car. I hold the end of the muzzle right on the skull just above the eyes so I cannot miss the center brain. But that's about as far as I'd go with a .22 to kill a deer with.

Why not carry a side arm .22 in addition to your deer rifle?

WW, With your ground hunting skills, I would think you should be able to get that close while hunting as well.[:D][:D]

Actually Pat, I did this a few times and while it was fun, it gets brain splatter all over my ghillie and they're hard to clean! [;)]

Kind of like Clemenza to his soldier Rocco in GODFATHER I when he shot Paulie for setting up the Don........."Leave the gun, take the cannoli." [:D]

A .22 LR will kill a deer. That's what the animal control people use at airports, a supressed .22. You can knock off the whole herd without them getting wise.
The thing is, there are MUCH better tools for deer. My advice is to not attempt it, especially if you have no experience with it.

.223 REM? No problem. Have at it. As long as you have a decent bullet, and know what you're doing, you'll do fine.

We just had a guy open up on 3 deer with a.22, to get them out of his yard. He hit the button buck right through the top of the heart (exreme luck), and it fell where it stood. The mature doe didn't fare so well. We believe that she got hit too, and ran and jumped over a fence to get away. The problem was the 75' near vertical drop on other side of the fence. She was messed up pretty bad (broken legs and possibly broken spine) and had to be put down. There was an a older buck with these deer that wandered off after the shooting. He was found later, a few hundred yards away, injured and trapped. He also had to be put down.

So a .22 will kill deer, but is not the best, or even a good choice. I am shocked that it is legal.

just for those that are curious. I'm guessing is the South Carolina is correct on your info this might help. This is from the SCDNR:

State laws and regulations prohibit the hunting of deer with .22 rimfire rifles on all WMAs. However, a .22 rimfire rifle is inadequate to harvest deer and can result in wounding or unrecovered deer. RESPECT for the animal hunted should always be a common sense guide for ethical hunters. Use only a weapon that allows the animal to be cleanly harvested. Generally speaking, a .243 or 6mm is the smallest caliber normally recommended for deer. For more information, call SCDNR Law Enforcement at (803) 734-4002.